Product Photography Tips

Sure, you can use the stock photos provided by manufacturers on your site. Generally well done, they’re usually shot by professional photographers and composed to show products at their best. This is why so many sites default to stock images, rather than producing their own. And, it’s why your site will look like all of the others if you use them too. If you follow these product photography tips instead, you’ll have images more reflective of the tone, style and attitudes of your key customers.

Here’s what you need to know…

Photography Types

By and large, product photography can be broken down into one of six main categories. These are individual, lifestyle, scale, detail, group and packaging.

• An individual shot, as the name implies, is an image of the product alone—typically depicted on a white background.
• Lifestyle photographs portray the product in use.
• Scale shots give viewers an idea of the size of a piece of merchandise by placing it next to something commonly recognized (such as a coin).
• Detail shots highlight key features such as controls, pockets, zippers and the like.
• Group shots are useful when the product is part of a larger family and can be shown with its “relatives.”

Packaging pictures can let shoppers see what the merchandise will be housed in when it arrives.

Some will obviously be more relevant to your situation than others. Say for example, if you sell furniture online, lifestyle images can convey the comfort of a piece, while detail shots give shoppers a closer look at key features. To see what might work best for your offerings look at what your competition is doing and look for ways to improve upon their efforts.

Equipment Essentials.

The capabilities of today’s smartphone cameras are truly amazing. Plus, they offer a number of built-in editing features to make your shots look even better. Still, you’ll be better off going with a digital SLR if you want to deliver maximum detail.

Lighting makes all the difference in product shots. If you invest in lighting equipment, go for continuous sources as opposed to the strobes professional photographers prefer. Continuous sources allow you to see what you’re getting before you shoot, making it easier to fine-tune your pictures ahead of time. Plus, they can be used for video.

A white background will give you the most flexibility in terms of using the finished images. You can run text in the white areas, or the pictures can stand on their own to make your product “pop.” White backgrounds also reflect light back onto your products without introducing a color.

An old photographer’s saying goes: “Regardless of how well you shoot, you’ll do even better with a tripod.” Providing a solid foundation for your camera during exposures makes your images sharper. It also helps you keep sizes and framing consistent if you’re producing a catalog of images.

Professional Photographer—Yes or No?

The short answer to that question is yes—if you can afford one. A seasoned professional can do in half a day what it might take you a couple of days to do on your own—half as well.

Remember, photos of your products are among your strongest selling tools. Further, the style of the images you run—along with your graphic and copy treatments—establish the tone of your site, which determines the type of customer you attract. This is an area in which you definitely want to put forth your best effort.

These product photography tips will help you get nice images of your products. If you want to elevate things to the highest plane possible, these tips will also help you communicate with a professional photographer to come up with the best possible images for your needs.